In the engine room, some problems are so common that they are simply accepted as part of daily operations. For Thorbjørn Thade Petersen, former Chief Engineer at Maersk, one of those problems was clogged scavenge drainpipes on 2-stroke marine engines.
Drainpipes filled with sludge made Scrape Down Analysis slow and imprecise, and crews often had to dig out hardened sludge by hand – a repetitive and unpleasant task. Thorbjørn began asking himself a simple question: “Why do we still accept this?”
That question led him to design the Automatic Drain Cleaning System (ADCS) – a solution that continuously keeps the drainpipes clean with slow-turning augers. The effect was immediate: faster and more accurate Scrape Down Analysis, less manual cleaning, and improved engine reliability.
The first prototypes were tested on large MAN 2-stroke engines, where ADCS showed clear results:
What started as a practical idea at sea has since developed into a proven technology now installed across multiple fleets.
“When the pipes are clogged, SDA oil has to be pressed through a plug of solid sludge – making samples slow and unreliable. With continuous cleaning, oil passes easily, and samples take only minutes,” explains Thorbjørn Thade Petersen.
Cleaning the stuffing box drain pipe, and pumping the collected oil to be re-cycled
Auger screw mounted in common drain line, effectively moving hard sludge and oil from each individual cylinder to the scavenge air drain tank
Mounted on each cylinder unit, continuously removing sludge and oil from under-piston space. Keeping drain lines clean and ensuring fast and correct Scrape Down Sampling
ShipCore’s Sludge Collecting Unit (SCU) removes the need for manual cleaning of scavenge air drain tanks and is central to facilitating the repurpose of oil drained from the engine to be reintroduced as reuse cylinder lubrication oil in our Lube Oil Reuse System (LRS).
With the SCU, engine crews save a significant amount of man hours on cleaning duties, improving working conditions by reducing the exposure to hazardous substances.
ShipCore’s Lube Oil Reuse System (LRS) revolutionizes the handling and lifetime of lubrication oil for maritime 2-stroke engines.
Working together with the ADCS and SCU, the LRS reuses lubrication oil to be reintroduced into the engine. This drastically lowers the total cost of lubrication oil used to operate the engine and lowers emissions from fossil fuels by reusing rather than paying to dispose of excess oil.
With ShipCore’s LRS, improved sustainability also means an improved ship economy.
ShipCore’s Automatic Drain Cleaning System (ADCS) reduces sludge accumulation in 2-stroke engines through continuous cleaning of scavenge air drains.
The solution is highly durable and reduces the total amount of cylinder lubrication oil needed as well as the total fuel consumption of the ship.
Add to this that it improves the working conditions and work safety of the engine crew significantly, while lowering their man-hours spent on cleaning duties.
